What's next for Columbus schools? Board keeping mum

Wednesday

Jan 29, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2014 at 11:00 AM

Hours after the state auditor released a report saying that Columbus City Schools had created an atmosphere of intimidation where officials felt pressured to cheat or face career repercussions, the Board of Education held a special meeting – but not to talk about the report. Instead, the meeting was largely about how to handle questions from reporters, including advice to "speak in sound bites" and disregard tough questions by "bridging" to different topics that are "on message," such as "positive news about your district."

Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch

Hours after the state auditor released a report saying that Columbus City Schools had created an atmosphere of intimidation where officials felt pressured to cheat or face career repercussions, the Board of Education held a special meeting — but not to talk about the report.

In fact, it never came up.

Instead, the meeting was largely about how to handle questions from reporters, including advice to “speak in sound bites” and disregard tough questions by “bridging” to different topics that are “ on message,” such as “positive news about your district” and “how the situation is being fixed, after accepting responsibility for it.”

Suggested bridge statements given by trainer Crystal Davis, deputy communication director for the Ohio School Boards Association, included: “We’re still investigating what happened,” and “Our district is among the best in the state at (insert statistic) and we have not had an incident since (insert date). We sincerely regret what has happened.”

A culture of deceit: read complete coverage of State Auditor Dave Yost’s probe into data fraud by Columbus schools

But school-board member Carol Perkins quickly disregarded the training in artfully dodging questions by basically giving a big “no comment” when asked about the state audit.

“I have answered all the questions I’m going to answer,” said Perkins, who announced her resignation two weeks ago and is set to leave the board in days. “I have nothing more to say that I haven’t already said.”

Earlier in the day, in announcing that he was beginning the process to fire four principals implicated in data changing, Superintendent Dan Good stood in front of five members of the school board at a Downtown news conference and went over everything that has been done to right the ship.

That list included the district installing “a new and improved student-information system (Infinite Campus) that will strengthen the district’s ability to collect and use data.”

But the audit revealed a new twist there, too.

In 2012, as the scandal began to unravel, the Infinite Campus system was being installed under the direction of former Deputy Superintendent Keith Bell. But after then-Superintendent Gene Harris ordered Bell to also investigate data-scrubbing allegations, and he returned with hard evidence of massive changes, Harris removed Bell from being in charge of the new student-data system.

His replacement? Michael Dodds, a district executive who Bell’s report to Harris had implicated as being one of the biggest data-changers in the district.

Then, without prompting, he artfully bridged to a new, more positive subject: “What I would say is this board is committed to governing effectively, and this board will focus in an uncompromising way on student achievement.”

Asked whether the board was ever going to hold a meeting to dig into the data scandal — something that never has occurred, with the exception of private meetings that a magistrate ordered stopped because they were potentially illegal — Baker said the board has been kept in the loop and has signed off on several new policies and controls.

“We don’t have any need to meet because we’ve been involved in the process all throughout,” Baker said.

No one else on the board had much to say about the report. None expressed any shock or outrage. W. Shawna Gibbs had no comment, and Ramona Reyes said she hadn’t yet seen the audit. (The board was briefed by the state two weeks ago, but only two members attended.)

Vice President Bryan O. Steward said the board will take steps to operate in the best interest of students. Newly seated members Dominic Paretti and Michael Cole said the district is taking the right steps.

bbush@dispatch.com

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